CELEBRATE RECOVER
12 Step Recovery Program with Biblical Comparisons
CONFESS
CONFESS
Principle
4: Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I
trust.
“Happy
are the pure in heart.” Matt. 5:8
Step
5: We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
of our wrongs.
“Therefore
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed.” Jas. 5:16
I have
a long way to go. And, I have come a long way. I have hurt many people. I have
been hurt by others. The details of those stories are for another time. But I am
on my journey. I am a partaker of God’s grace, through the cross of Jesus
Christ. He has born the punishment for my sin. God is holy. He is just. I have
offended His righteousness. I deserve to die for my sin. It was I who should
make it right before God. How else could I come into his presence? But Jesus
took My sin upon Himself and bore the wrath of God for me. He stood in my place.
So I may now come into His presence. Yet, I still have issues.
I am one who loved the darkness. I find security in believing that I will
not be found out. I am comforted by my sin so much that it drew me away from
confience with God. It drew me away from the arms of a loving family. I felt
secure in the warmth and comfort of my addiction. My addiction was my cherished
friend. I depended on its solice to cover the pain, shame, guilt that I carried
in my heart. My habits and hangups are my coping mechanism. They help me. In my
hangups, I feel in control of my out of control life. I have a sense of power.
In my addiction, I am accepted. If this were not true, I would have easily given
it all up long ago.
But thanks be to God for Celebrate Recovery! I have begun this 12 step
process. I have come out of denial. I have acknowleged that my life is out of
control. I know that Jesus Christ will restore me to sanity. He is at work in me
so that I will do His good pleasure. His will that is good for me and an honor
to Him. I have inventoried my life, both good and bad. I have owned up to my
sin. I have confessed my sin to God. And now, today, I will follow James 5:16 I
will confess to another person, whom I trust, the exact nature of my sin, so
that I may be HEALED.
Do you remember the story of Baby Jessica who at 18 months old fell iinto
an abandoned well?
ON OCTOBER 14, 1987, AN
eighteen-month-old toddler named Jessica McClure fell 22 feet into an abandoned
Midland water well that was only eight inches in diameter. For the next three
days, rescuers frantically dug a tunnel to reach her while the little girl sang
nursery rhymes to herself, called for “Mama,” and cried. To keep her
company, local police officer Andy Glasscock would call down into the well,
“How does a kitten go?” “Meow,” Jessica would call back. Baby
Jessica’s plight mesmerized the country. CNN covered the story around the
clock. When she was finally pulled from the well, the three major networks
interrupted their regular programming to cover the moment. Jessica was honored
at parades and at a White House ceremony. She was featured on The Oprah Winfrey
Show and the cover of People magazine and was the subject of a television movie.
“Jessica
has no memory of the ordeal, the loss of part of one foot, and the 15 operations
that followed the 2 1/2 days she spent wedged all alone in the well, singing
about Winnie the Pooh.
Baby
Jessica could not have endured the long 58 hour ordeal being stuck in that well.
She was only 18 months old and in a lot of pain. It was critical that her
rescuers communicate with her and comfort her to the best of their ability. They
were successful. She has gone on to live a normal life.
In
many ways, this story is very much like us when we take hold of this program. We
admit that our lives are out of control. We turn our lives over to God. In a
real way, we are free falling. The support of our habits and hang-ups is gone
and we are not sure what to do. We may even get stuck.
Being
in the dark we may begin to feel very disoriented. Our thoughts may go out of
control. We may say and do things that may not make sense. We may begin thinking
that we should have never started this recovery thing in the first place. Going
back to denial my seem easier and safer than moving forward. It was so critical
that the rescuers communicated with Jessica to help her stay focused and not
panic. It proved to be a life saving strategy.
At
this point in our recovery, it is critical that we gather another person around
us to walk with us to support us, encourage us, keep us on track, keep us
focused on the prize.
Remember:
never give up before the miracle happens.
Our
lives are like a house that has been closed up for years. It’s dark inside. No
one has cleaned. The air is stale and musty. Cob webs abound all over the place.
Forgotten knick knacks are on the dusty shelves. The walls are stained. Our old
behaviors and shameful secrets are hidden from view in this house. The problem
we stated when we came out of denial was driven by many character defects. Lust,
pride, anger, envy, gluttony, sloth, and greed. We have been afraid to open the doors and let anyone see what
has gone on in our house lest we be found out, rejected and shamed.
But
now we can’t waite to open the windows up. We are excited about cleaning out
all the corners of this forsaken house. Fresh air blows through and begins to
refresh our home. Step 5 is our coming out of the house. When we admit the exact
nature of our wrongs to ourselves, God and to someone we trust, we are opening
the doors and windows of our house and letting the fresh breezes fill us once
again.
Here
is a bowl that represents sin in us. It is gooey, sticky, and very unattractive.
What happens when we try to relate with these sins going on
in our life?......
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
The
cross is where Jesus dealt with the sins. All have sinned and come short of
God’s glory.
I can
cover over my sin with denial, secrecy, minimizing, making my habit socially
acceptable.... but I still have the sin in my life and the fruits of my life
still show it....
But if
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Therefore
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed.
James 5:16.
John
13
Jesus
Washes His Disciples' Feet
1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for
him to leave this world and go to the Father. d his own who were in
the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a]
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas
Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father
had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was
returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel
around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples'
feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash
my feet?"
7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you
will understand."
8"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you,
you have no part with me.
9"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my
hands and my head as well!"
10Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his
feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of
you."
This
is the Gospel... Some will ask you to listen to their inventory... I encourage
you to pick up the towel...
When
Jesus washed his disciples feet, he was demonstrating his love. But it would be
fair to say that he was expecting honesty and truth from his disciples. One
disciple Jesus did not get to wash his feet. Yes, Judas left the meeting and
conducted his business of betrayal. Oh, if he would have only allowed Jesus to
minister to him. If he would have only allowed the sweet presence of this
servant king to touch the dark places of his heart.
Coming
clean begins with the first letter of our acrostic,
C for
Confess. Come clean with our shortcomings resentments, and sins. Own up to them.
Guilty as charged.
O...Then
Obey God’s directions. He says in James 5:16 to confess our sins to each other
and pray for each other, THAT WE MAY BE HEALED. Without confession, the healing
does not begin. With confession, it begins.
N...No
more guilt.
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
This principle can transform our lives.
It can restore our relationships. It can recharge our confidence. We can
begin living with new assurance of who we are in Christ.
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus. Rom 3:23-24
What
happens to a person who has been honest about his short comings? That is, one
who is honest about being in the category of one who has fallen short of God’s
glory? There are 4 results:
F...He
can now Face the truth. John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life."
Light
will permeate his life. He will have new confidence.
He
will become accustomed to humility.
E...Ease
the pain. When we confess our sins, we spread the burden around. Our load
becomes lighter. We come out of the house where we were stooped over with the
entire weight of the guilt and pain.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
S...Stop
the blame. Peace and serenity come from accepting this world as it is not from
blaming others for our problems or our hurts, or making them the reason for our hang-ups.
Yes, we do not live in this world alone. Others have hurt us and we responded in
what ever way we needed to protect ourselves from the hurt that was inflicted.
But blaming has destroyed intimacy in all of our important relationships.
Matthew
7:3-4
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye
and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your
brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a
plank in your own eye?
S...Start
accepting God’s forgiveness. Once we see ourselves as God sees us, then we can
look ourselves in the eye. We can stand before the mirror and look at our self
with confidence and humility.
II Cor
5:19
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins
against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
1 John
1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Was it
worth it to Baby Jessica to have been delivered from that well over 20 years
ago? You could ask her. Today she is a young mother with a son. She has
undergone 15 surgeries, a missing toe and has some scars to remember her ordeal
by. I believe it was worth it for her.
Will
it be worth it for you to confess your faults and make your imperfections know?
Oh
yes! For God has plans for you.
Jeremiah
29:11 For I
know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
We
have steps 6 through 12 to follow
This
is the beginning of healing.
Pray...